


Supermarket Flowers

by the_only_education_worth_having



Series: Divide Album ÷ [10]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Absent Parents, Angst, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Crying, Friendship, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Murder, godparent - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-11
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-09 00:04:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15255021
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_only_education_worth_having/pseuds/the_only_education_worth_having
Summary: December 1991. Tony arrives home after terrible news.





	Supermarket Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote a fic series based on songs from Ed Sheeran’s divide album

Tony didn’t move. He noted Happy’s movements but his head never turned, instead he looked dead ahead as his mind raced at a million miles a minute thinking over everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. He could hear the crunch of the gravel outside as Happy shifted from one foot to another, wondering what to do for the best. Tony looked out of the window. The house was in darkness. The garage was locked, which was odd in itself. With the expensive security system that protected the perimeter of the house, Howard almost always left the garage unlocked and many of his cars on the vast drive so he could pick whichever one he wanted on a whim. Snow was littered all along the grounds though there was not a Christmas decoration in sight, if he remembered rightly last year they had put it off until Tony had come home for the holidays – something that only happened on the 24th of December as he rolled in unannounced before heading back out for a party with his friends in Miami.

Taking a deep breath, he climbed out of the car and onto the gravel. He stood, taking in the view for a moment before he turned to happy.  
‘Ready when you are,’ the large man said, gesturing for Tony to move forward but he didn’t. He looked at Happy for a moment and then said, ‘it’s okay. I’m going to go in alone. Thank you.’  
‘But Tony-’ his assistant and friend started but Tony didn’t listen. Instead, he merely moved forward and grabbed his bags from the ground at Happy’s feet before he walked ahead off the gravel to the steps to the front door. He moved quickly, desperate to get out of Happy’s line of view, and was soon inside the door and resting against it.

He let his head fall back against the cold oak, his eyes falling shut as his breathing attempted to even itself out. Dumping his bags on the floor he opened his eyes and walked forward into the empty reception hall. His footsteps echoed throughout the empty house, a feeling that filled him with increasing sadness. As he walked lights flicked on throughout the house, responding to his movements.

As he went into the living room he noted that something was off. It wasn’t pristine. Since he had been a child this house had been a museum, a pinnacle of wealth and success. Now it was littered with things that shouldn’t have been there. Upon the mantel and surrounding tables were stacks of cards and flowers. These weren’t the ornate bouquets handpicked for a party these were haphazard and cheap. Tony could tell. Stuffed animals were scattered around the fireplace. Everything looked out of place.

He moved forward and grasped a bouquet.

‘To Tony,  
Thinking of you at this sad time.  
Love Ann and Bill x’

And then another.

‘Sorry for your loss,  
The Stark Industries Marketing team.’

He grabbed card upon card and tore them open, reading the tirade of do-gooders giving him their faux sadness. Valentina must have brought them in. Anger boiled in him, and he stomped through to the kitchen and pulled open every cupboard until he found a roll of bin liners before he moved back to the living room and started to slam everything inside an open bag. It was therapeutic tearing everything down, slamming it into the bag. Once everything was packed up he looked around he couldn’t stop himself, he went into a frenzy, tearing everything that was personal down and in the bag. He went to their bedroom and opened the closet, throwing things off the hangers and into the bag. Tailored suits, crisp linen pants and rafts of jewellery were scattered around the room as they stopped fitting in the trash. 

By the time he stopped the floor was covered in broken glass, clothes, papers and so much more. He continued hoping that this would get rid of all the hurt that was crushing him. He found his fathers’ study to be the most cathartic and for a vague moment, his mind was distracted. Room after room he blitzed until he hit the library.

Maria’s favourite place. As Tony entered a waft of her perfume hit his nose bringing with it another crushing wave of sadness. He moved into the room and to her favourite chair, where she’d curl up at night whilst his father was working and read her favourite stories. There was still a half-drunk cup of tea on the table next to the chair as well as a picture. It was of her 15 years ago or so with a child Tony as they sat in that very room reading his favourite book. Howard had taken the picture after compromising with Maria that they would come down to the lab after they had finished as he wanted to show off his newest invention.

The pain hit Tony like a truck. He had tried so hard to put it out of his mind but now he was forced to sit down on his mothers’ reading chair and try and compose himself. Whenever he had cried as a child Howard had scolded him, telling him that whenever he felt sad there was no reason to cry. A strong man, a real man, kept his composure and dealt with the problem. But that didn’t matter now, they were gone. A fault, a stupid mechanical failure took away one of the most technically gifted minds ever. And his mother, an innocent bystander had gotten caught up in an accident that his father should have been prepared for! The tears started to spill over and he sat there, crying as he clutched the picture frame against his chest as if that would somehow reverse the damage that had evolved from the last couple of days.

He didn’t even notice the movement through the house and was only aware of a presence as a voice said from the door, ‘Oh Tony.’

It was Peggy. She stood in the doorway wide-eyed looking down at Tony’s broken form with sadness. Peggy had known for their family for years since Tony was a boy. She was his godmother but she was so much more than that, she was family. Though Maria had been adamantly involved in Tony’s life, Howard had been somewhat vacant opting to work rather than a parent. Peggy had taken up some of the slack and raised him into the boy he was today.

‘Aunty Peg,’ he said feeling his face grow cold as his tears started to stem. She moved forward into the room and knelt beside the chair, wiping his eyes.  
‘I heard about everything, I came straight away.’  
‘They’re gone-’  
‘I know. Tony dear, what happened to the house? My God.’  
‘I was upset.’  
‘Oh Tony,’ she whispered.

Neither of them knew how long they had sat there, holding each other as tears spilt onto the soft cotton chair and the plush carpet beneath them. Eventually, Peggy patted Tony’s leg and stood, smoothing out her skirt as she headed for the door.  
‘Where are you going?’ he asked in a thick voice.  
‘I’m going to make some tea and tidy up. You’re going to take a shower and meet me downstairs.’  
‘Peg-’  
‘No exceptions. You’re angry I know but your parents don’t deserve to have their house trashed.’  
‘They don’t care, they’re dead,’ Tony said bitterly.  
‘All the more reason to show them a little respect. Once you’re done you can put my suitcases in the guest bedroom, and call Happy. He’s worried about you.’

With a flurry, she disappeared downstairs. Tony said nothing though part of him wanted to act out like a small child and tell her to get the hell out. She was right though he supposed. Sure, it was just stuff, materialistic things that didn’t matter but it was theirs – their life made up of items, memorise. Rising from the chair he walked out of the room and down the hall, stripping his clothes as he went. Once he was in the bathroom he turned on the scalding hot shower and stepped under the steady stream of water allowing it to wash over his body. It was a small comfort. As the water washed down his face he was happy that he could cry without the embarrassment of another person knowing.


End file.
